Chapter 87
First, I stopped Hephaestus, who was about to leave hurriedly for the torture chamber of sinners with Eros.
"...Hephaestus."
"Yes?"
The God of Blacksmiths paused and turned around.
Right... my nephew gave me the Bident, often repaired my weapons, and even made Charon's boat.
So it would be fair for me to solve his marriage problem in return.
"Do you still have lingering feelings for Aphrodite? Think realistically and answer carefully."
"...Hmm."
"If you want, I can find you a goddess whose beauty is not far behind Aphrodite's."
Hephaestus pondered deeply.
Confusion, sadness, affection, and regret flashed across his eyes.
"Aphrodite has had relationships with not only Ares but numerous male gods. She has many children too..."
"But I..."
"Yes, you must have many lingering feelings. However, a marital relationship is difficult to maintain with one-sided courtship. Although Zeus forcibly paired you two, you know this, don't you?"
"......"
"What you've done this time must have reached Aphrodite's ears as well."
The God of Blacksmiths hung his head low. He remained motionless for a long time.
As Hephaestus stood frozen like that, Eros's words reached his ears.
"Um... Lord Hephaestus."
"What is it, Eros?"
"Well. As the God of Love, I know... Mother's heart has already left..."
"Haa..."
Hephaestus, who had been sighing deeply enough to extinguish the Underworld, finally spoke.
What came out of his mouth along with a bitter smile was resignation.
"Haha... Great-uncle. It seems Aphrodite and I are no longer meant to be."
"...I see."
Now that Hephaestus has finally given up on continuing his marriage with Aphrodite and left,
I was thinking of ways to persuade Zeus.
The marriage of Aphrodite and Hephaestus was decided by Zeus, the King of Gods.
It was because he worried that gods would fight over the extremely beautiful Goddess of Beauty.
"I will not accept any further objections! From now on, the husband of the Goddess of Beauty is Hephaestus!"
Since he strongly proclaimed it with his authority as the supreme god, it would be difficult to overturn that decision under normal circumstances.
Appropriate reasons, grounds, and the consent of other gods are needed.
To persuade Zeus, we need a way to prevent conflicts among gods and... I'll need Poseidon's cooperation.
But if Aphrodite's official husband disappears, other male gods will go crazy and rush in...
Wait, 'male' gods... come to think of it, the justification is on our side.
I heard that Poseidon, who is most important, is currently in Olympus...
I should head to the palace in the clouds right now to persuade the gods.
***
Olympus Palace.
The peaceful beings on the clouds stir as they see me.
"Wait... it's the King of the Underworld...!"
"Lord Hades?! Is it about the issue of taking Demeter's daughter to the Underworld last time?"
"Though much time has passed, it could be about that lesser goddess Medusa..."
Poseidon was nowhere to be seen, perhaps drinking nectar somewhere inside.
I roughly called over a young female attendant who was carrying nectar nearby...
"Oh. Oh. G-greetings, Lord Hades!"
"Where is Poseidon?"
"The Master of the Sea is... over there..."
I nodded and was about to move when the attendant's face caught my eye.
It's a face I haven't seen in the Olympus Palace before... Wait, does it look like a man?
"What's your name? Are you a newly born lesser god?"
"I am... Ganymedes, a prince of Troy... Lord Zeus brought me to Olympus. O Lord of the Underworld!"
I looked at this boy? who was prostrating himself before me.
A face not inferior to most goddesses, but a boy?
And wait, Zeus brought him? Could it be...
"Did Zeus perhaps bring you here forcibly? If so, nod slightly, and I'll send you back to the mortal world."
"That... that's not it. Lord Zeus has treated me well."
He can barely speak properly due to fear. It's obvious he hasn't been in Olympus for long.
He doesn't seem to have any special power or lineage... Did Zeus just kidnap him based on looks alone?
No, Troy is quite a large nation... Is it right to bring a prince from there?
Moreover, it's not because he's an important hero or needed for a great task, but it seems he was brought just for his beauty.
"Alright, I understand. Continue with your duties."
"Yes...!"
I can bring up this boy's story when persuading Zeus.
Wait... If I speak well to Hera too, it might make persuading Zeus easier.
As I walked on the clouds, lost in thought, Poseidon came into view.
A blue-haired male god, gulping down nectar and listening to music flowing from a lyre.
I approached him directly and sat down next to him.
"Poseidon, I have something to discuss."
"Hades? What brings you..."
"We need to divorce Hephaestus and find him a new wife, lend me your strength in persuading Zeus."
"Hmm."
He gulped down the nectar he was drinking in one go and made a disinterested expression.
"Why, because of what Hephaestus almost did to Athena this time?"
"That's right. I'm worried he might turn to Gaia's side if we just give him a beautiful goddess."
"Well..."
"Didn't you incite Hephaestus? Thanks to that, Athena suffered a bit too, so show some mercy to your manipulated nephew."
"If my nephew sides with Gaia, wouldn't that only cast doubt on Zeus's rule? Why should I do that?"
Judging by his slight smile, he still hasn't given up on the dream of rebellion.
Well, to incite Hephaestus just because he didn't like Athena...
The more discord among the gods, the more Zeus's rule is questioned.
He seemed uninterested in the position of King of Gods for a while, but is he dreaming of strange ambitions again?
"I don't understand why you're doing this over such a trivial position as the ruler of Olympus."
"No, from my perspective, you're the one I don't understand, Hades. Anyway, I'm not fond of Zeus, so do as you please."
"Do you still have thoughts of overthrowing him?"
"Hmph! If I had such intentions, would you be interested in joining?"
The Master of the Sea turns his head, grumbling softly.
Hmm. It seems he's not thinking of rebellion. Just a minor grudge, I suppose.
But come to think of it, it's irritating.
Is this guy really going to pretend he didn't incite his poor nephew?
Always bullying mortals...
"...Then I'll try to persuade you differently. It seems no one believes that you incited Hephaestus, but what if I officially acknowledge that it's true? And thanks to you raping Medusa, she's now grinding her teeth in the Underworld. It wouldn't be bad to bring the victim to Olympus and expose your misdeeds. There are countless human victims who died because of you in the Underworld, and if I send just a small portion of them to the training ground connected to the mortal world... your reputation among the heroes who will return to the mortal world will plummet..."
In reality, most of these are things I'm reluctant to actually implement.
It's impossible because I have to respect the will of Medusa herself and other victims.
And I don't have a reason to confront Poseidon to that extent...
Actually, if it's not for the purpose of confrontation... I shouldn't have said such things in the first place, but have I unknowingly built up irritation from working in the Underworld?
There are just so many victims in the Underworld complaining about their resentment towards him...
As I said this, Poseidon's face reddened, and he stood up abruptly, slamming his hand on the table.
Fortunately, due to his quick-tempered nature, he didn't notice anything strange and let it slide.
If he thinks about it slowly later, he'll realize it was just a bluff...
"Wh-what! Hades, are you trying to intimidate me now!"
Blue divine power flickered in both of his eyes, and the surrounding gazes focused on us.
Now that I've shown the stick, it's time to show the carrot. Don't get too angry, Poseidon.
"...Why do you think I'm doing this? If you help me this time, I'll let you meet those who have already died."
"I can meet my dead children?"
"All of your illegitimate children, and even the human women you loved."
"Ahem!"
Poseidon sat back down and looked at me.
Even Zeus can't interfere with my authority over dead souls.
Semele, the human woman who was Dionysus's mother and accidentally killed by Zeus.
I even refused Zeus's request to meet her again.
Except for a very few exceptions like the cases of Phaethon and Helios,
Meeting between the dead and the living is not allowed even to gods because it's directly related to the balance of the world.
This is a proposal that works because Poseidon has an overflowing affection for his children.
He sits down grumbling and grabs another nectar to gulp down.
"Huh. You're praised as a merciful god by humans, but you're utterly merciless to your brother."
"Consider it as your karma being that great. Victims who suffered from you periodically come to the Underworld."
"Hmph... Because of those mere humans..."
"It seems Hephaestus has given up on Aphrodite too. If we divorce them and find a new wife for your nephew, wouldn't he repay you somehow?"
Poseidon ponders, rolling his eyes.
He's calculating the benefits of agreeing with me and the losses if he refuses.
"...Make sure to tell Hephaestus that you were of great help. You wouldn't want to incur your nephew's resentment for no reason, would you?"
"Fine. But know that I can't actively help."
"That's enough. Now I'll go persuade Hera."
It's fine as long as he shows some agreement with my opinion.
The fact that Poseidon and I agree can sway Zeus's thoughts.
By the way, I heard that Poseidon also courted Aphrodite when she first appeared.
It seems he gave up after she had a child with Ares, or maybe he was mindful of his official wife Amphitrite...
Poseidon and I moved to approach Hera, the Queen of Gods.
The beautiful goddess, who was applying olive oil to her face in a moderately large building, was startled to see us.
"Hades and Poseidon...? Don't tell me... a rebellion?!"
"...It's a misunderstanding."
As expected, that's the first thing she thinks of.